Set in the dark ages (circa 1380) in Britain, "The Reckoning" tells of a priest on the run who takes up with a traveling troupe of actors only to find himself embroiled in an already solved murder mystery which he feels compelled to resolve. The film does a good job of recreating the bitter and bleak austerity of medieval England beset with wintry cold, threat of the black death, and ubiquitous deprivations. However, the story of a man who feels compelled to crusade for the freedom of a woman of whom he knows almost nothing and at his own peril and that of his troupe stages a kangaroo court for the not-so-massive masses in the town square under the noses of the Sheriff officials while doing a quickie autopsy with black topsoil passing as frozen ground, blaa, blaa...well, it all seems a lot far fetched. With ho-hums from the critics and a lukewarm reception by the public, this marginally interesting though earnest flick will play best with fans of the players and those into medieval peasant stuff. (B-)
Review of The Reckoning
